Making of He Qi Naturals Salves & Stuffed Zucchinis!

I always find process photos fascinating.. it's always interesting getting a glimpse of how things are made!

When I was making my Vanilla Lavender salve last week, I snapped a few photos and wanted to share them with you.

Everything begins with a super clean table-- I do this on my kitchen table that's covered with glass and I Lysol the crap out of it to prepare and get the surface clean.

I get all my ingredients and measuring devices ready, and of course make sure my recipe book is open to the right recipe.

I do keep a book with ALL of my recipes in them. Experimental ones included! It's kind of a bath/beauty diary :). The large block of wax is beeswax, the three little pieces of cream ish looking things are cocoa butter medallions :)

Everything get melted together, and when the temperature is right, I add in the essential oils.


And carefully pour into the individual tins:


Let cool naturally at room temperature, package and label... and we get our Vanilla Lavender salve!


I made some beautiful custom muslin bags to go with He Qi Naturals orders and decided it was time to offer a 3-lip balm gift set on my ETSY account:

I'll be soon adding it to the He Qi Website--- these make truly thoughtful and guilt-free stocking stuffers for the upcoming Holiday season!

About a week ago I also added another Charmed bracelet with pearl and bow:



And some cute Baubles in Pink and Peach:



In other news, the Tough Mudder is on the 29th of this month... we've been eating clean and working out with our usual fervor. One of the most recent, most delicious things I've cooked that's quite very healthy and nutrient + protein rich are these stuffed zucchinis:


Ingredients (use whatever you want, really, for your taste buds-- omit meat if that's not for you)
These are some of the things I used-- not pictured is seasoning (salt, pepper, minced garlic)

If eating meat is OK-- I HIGHLY recommend using bacon or panchetta in this-- it adds a lot of flavor and a little goes a long way.

I also used quinoa as a grain in the stuffing.

Feel free to prepare the quinoa up to a day in advance and store in the fridge. You'll be warming this up later.

Prepare your Zucchinies-- cut length-wise and scoop out the insides/cut them out, whatever is easier for you. I used a metal teaspoon and it worked beautifully.




Keep the innards of your zucchini and chop is up a little bit (not much), and also chop up your onions.


Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
Put some salt, pepper and olive oil on your hollowed out zucchini and place in preheated oven for 10 minutes. MEANWHILE, cook your stuffing!


Cook your panchetta or meat if you have any, and then add the onions and chopped zucchini.y67




I added chili peppers, you can flavor however you prefer.
Add in all the rest of your stuffing goods while your hollowed zucchini are baking in the oven.
This is quinoa added to the base of tomatoes, onions, zucchini, panchetta.


Take your baked zucchini out of the oven, and fill them generously with stuffing. You might having leftovers but I promise the stuffing is delish on its own :) (coming from someone who ate the stuffing by itself... hehe)


Gotta stuff them all...

Sprinkle cheese over the top if desired.

Return to oven for another 15 minutes at 400 degrees F. Broil for a few minutes to crisp up the tops if you desire.
And.. then you're done!!

And there you have it. A really awesome way of getting all your food groups into your diet and give you plenty of clean energy for your workouts.

I've realized over the last few weeks that the days are slowly getting shorter and it's darker when I'm up at 6.... hope everyone here enjoys the fall! I am so, so excited to be in a house this year and the Holidays are truly right around the corners. VERY exciting!!!

Lisa

SHOP

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heqicrystaldesigns@hotmail.com

SUGAR SCRUB! Winners, Earrings, more chances to score ;)

I took in all of your feedback from the previous post (which is always amazingly helpful, THANK YOU!), and created a couple of pieces with what material I had on hand. I'm officially completely out of the ballend head pins you see on each crystal, so.... no more of these till I get more of the pins. I think the round balls add a crucial extra something to the piece, so I don't want to make any without them :X

So... some new cluster cascades:








I've been working on sugar scrubs to add to my beauty line-- the first one is the REFRESH lemon scented sugar scrub =)
Here are photos of the samples I've put together to include with ALL orders until I run out =)


And a big jar:


These scrubs are made with refined sugar, olive oil, lemon essential oil (all natural), vitamin E oil.
They work as exfoliants, gently, buffing away dead skin cells to reveal a new, healthier layer. The oils help the skin retain moisture. I noticed a difference in skin texture and moisture level on the first use. Use no more than 3 times a week to allow skin to build new layers.
See the item HERE.

Want a Free Sample?!
The first 6 people who comment on this post with "I WANT LEMON SCRUB!" will receive 1 free sugar scrub sample! Only open to US residents this time, sorry! The reason is because I want to be able to ship these with just 1 stamp instead of paying $1.50 for postage for just 1 measly sample :X. Please include your first name and email address in your comment.
No more, sorry! If you make a purchase from the website, I'll include it with your order =)

I've randomly chosen a winner from the last post to receive a pair of earring, some oil blotters, and a sample of my new sugar scrub!

Congrats to: AnNeTtEe !
Please email me at: heqicrystaldesigns@hotmail.com to redeem your prize!

For a chance to win this package:

Comment below with your favorite SCENTS, and whether or not you're interested in purchasing sugar scrubs. Thanks! Winner will be announced in next post =)

A little random, but I also added a nail buffer to my shop. I love the design, super cute and portable. It's a plus that it works well ;)


see you later,
Lisa
heqicrystaldesigns@hotmail.com
SHOP HQCD

Cluster Cascade Earrings, Hello: Fellow Jewelry Artisans + Surprise ;)

Introducing the Cluster Cascade Collection:
(inspired by my own previous ROCKSTAR earrings)







These are just a few-- many more to come! What do you guys think? Any suggestions for shapes/color schemes?
All of the beads are wire wrapped to ensure durability, so it takes a little longer to make them, but I think this extra security measure makes the piece well worth it ;)

*******************************************************
So... the little surprise ;)
EVERYONE who makes a comment on this post will be entered into a drawing for a pair of mystery earrings + some other beauty goodies. This mystery prize will be revealed along with the winner in my next blog post (whenever that may be, so be quick :D). This is my way of saying THANK YOU for dropping by-- it means a lot to me that you take the time out in your day to check out HQCD ^^

Also, HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO to all the fellow jewelry artisans who visit this blog. I'm happy you're spending time on here, whatever the motivation may be.  Anyone down for a surprise jewelry swap? I haven't done one in a while. Drop me an email if you're interested: heqicrystaldesigns@hotmail.com

gnite, bed time for me =)

love,
Lisa
heqicrystaldesigns@hotmail.com
SHOP HQCD

Attempt at homemade caramels, Maybelline Eye Studio Liner

I've been really, REALLY craving caramels. I wanted to buy some off Etsy BUT the seller is so swamped with orders, and I'm craving so badly that I couldn't resist anymore and made some of my own...

My morning class got canceled today, so I went to the store and stocked up on sugar, butter, and more sugar....
... and $50 on a nice, stainless steel 8qt. pot. mmm. Give it to me to spend so much on cooking gear.

It took about an hour of stirring before it was ready to be cooled..
What it looked like in the pot


Cooling


Packed for love packages!


At the store, I also picked up the

NEW Eye Studio™ Lasting Drama™ Gel Eyeliner

I've been wanting to try a new gel liner for a while, and at $8, this was a steal. Came with a brush, as well! I got the purple color.



Swatches:
Left: After 3 layers
Right: After 1 layer.

The Verdict:
I LOVE the color. It's a pity that it's not half as pigmented as the ads claim it to be, though. But I think it's so worth the $8, especially since the brush that it comes with isn't half bad. I don't mind going over the line a couple times more to make it darker =)

And jumping topics to new earrings at HQCD


Also, I wanted to reiterate that HQCD does business honestly-- whether that be from a business point of view, OR an artist's point of view. I DO NOT entertain requests to knowingly duplicate another artisan's jewelry.

Due to an overwhelming response lately for me to "sponsor" either bloggers or Youtubers, I'd like to publicly acknowledge that HQCD is not sponsoring right now. I've been getting tons of emails from people who'd like to review HQCD-- you are encouraged to do so, but I won't be giving away any more free goods, sorry!

Visit the HQCD SHOP.
Contact me: heqicrystaldesigns@hotmail.com

Have a wonderful week, everyone! A Cellnique review is coming up :D
- Lisa